Broadways Best Gay Showmances: HuffPo's Rebuttal to Playbill

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 8/11/13 at 1:02pm

Christopher Sieber's husband writes his own rebuttal to Playbill only including heterosexual couples in their "Broadway's Best Couples" feature from last week. A slideshow of Best Gay Couples are included, as well.


LINK

[DAME]

Posted: 8/11/13 at 1:21pm

Good for Kevin. This came straight from his heart. I hope he updates it with more as more stories come in. SHAME ON PLAYBILL. SHAME!

[bwayboy22]

Posted: 8/11/13 at 1:27pm

How do you forget these couples in the world's gayest community! Also, how do you forget Terrence & Charlotte?

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 8/11/13 at 2:36pm

Amen, DAME. It baffles me that Playbill could fail to include same-sex couples.

[theaternut]

Posted: 8/12/13 at 1:43pm

There are a lot more couples than this.

[Brian07663NJ]

Posted: 8/12/13 at 1:52pm

Bravo!

omg I still have the chills over Christopher and Kevin's erotic Broadway Bares Comic Strip S&M Batman and Robin. Has to be one of the most romantic hot amazing fantastic moments I have ever seen then when you add that they are a 'real' couple...WOW!

[adam.peterson44]

Posted: 8/12/13 at 2:13pm

Was upset about the "exclusion" too until i actually looked at both of the lists - the Playbill one and the response one. On the Playbill list, I knew of at least one of the two people (and usually both) in all of the couples but one, and had seen most of them performing. In the response list, the only person that i had heard of was Chris Sieber.

So it doesn't strike me as an attempt by Playbill to exclude same sex couples at all. It seems more like selecting couples involving performers who are well-known to theater-goers (the reading audience of playbill.com) because they have played principal roles in Broadway shows and been nominated for Tony awards, etc.

People more closely involved in the theater community are much more likely to know many people who work in the ensembles, as stage managers, etc. So it is easy for them to forget that the theater-going public wouldn't necessarily have heard of most of those people. This doesn't seem like discrimination based on sexual orientation to me on the part of playbill, but more likely selection of performers based on how well-known they are likely to be among the theater-going public.

Whether there is discrimination involved in casting those lead roles is another topic of discussion for another thread, but i don't think playbill.com's reporting of theater news based on reader familiarity with the performers makes them guilty of discrimination based on orientation.

Updated On: 8/12/13 at 02:13 PM

[bjh2114]

Posted: 8/12/13 at 2:19pm

^ Exactly. I agree. I am all for the equal treatment of us gays, but I don't think that the exclusion of gay couples in the original article was as much an oversight as a choice in regards to how recognizable the couples are. The real problem is the title of the original article, which shouldn't have been "Broadway's Best Showmances", but rather "Broadway's Most Famous Showmances."



Updated On: 8/12/13 at 02:19 PM

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 8/12/13 at 2:21pm

Where's Matt Doyle and Ryan Steele? They're the cutest Broadway couple and they're nowhere on that list.

[adam.peterson44]

Posted: 8/12/13 at 2:22pm

Absolutely agree about the title. 'Best' implies some sort of commentary on their relationship itself, whereas 'most famous' is what they were actually reporting.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 8/12/13 at 2:39pm

There's still a few couples where both actors have credits that Broadway audiences would recognize. Playbill could have included Gavin Creel and Andrew Rannells, Matt Doyle and Ryan Steele and Andrew Keenan Bolger and Brian Letendre.

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 8/12/13 at 2:59pm

I agree. Use of the word "Best" in BOTH lists was a mistake. What makes one same-sex or heterosexual showmance better than another?

I also do not believe Playbill intentionally excluded homosexuals, but come on... This is Broadway. There are plenty of high profile same-sex couples. Cats named a few just now, and there are many others that could be listed if we took the time to think about it. It's highly suspicious to me.

Updated On: 8/12/13 at 02:59 PM

[Kad]

Posted: 8/12/13 at 3:08pm

...are Creel and Rannells even officially together?

And, sorry, Andrew Keenan-Bolger is not quite a "name" in the way the actors in the Playbill article are.

[bjh2114]

Posted: 8/12/13 at 3:22pm

Those are 1) not high profile names and 2) not married couples. Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't all of the couples in the original article married?

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 8/12/13 at 3:31pm

Yes, all of the couples in the original article are married (with the exception of briefly mentioned Carrie Coon and Tracy Letts and Debra Messing and Will Chase), but since most states don't allow same-sex marriage, I don't think it's fair to use that argument. Not to mention that being married doesn't really elevate you over committed unmarried couples.

Updated On: 8/12/13 at 03:31 PM

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 8/12/13 at 3:33pm

But you would think Playbill (of all places) would be sensitive to the fact that, at this moment, the inclusion of at least one gay or lesbian couple would seem like an appropriate thing to do. They certainly could have included high profile Christopher and his husband Kevin. But they didn't. And it just seems odd. So bravo to Kevin for creating a list that celebrates same-sex showmances that have stood the test of time. And bravo to my friends on the list!

[PalJoey]

Posted: 8/12/13 at 3:38pm

Playbill messed but, but to be fair--and accurate--it should be noted that their Gay Pride Month coverage was flawless--and has been so for several (many?) years.

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 8/12/13 at 3:40pm

To be sure, I don't think there was anything insidious about it. I just think it was a truly bizarre oversight.

[bjh2114]

Posted: 8/12/13 at 3:42pm

I would hardly consider Christopher and Kevin high profile. Most people wouldn't know Kevin if he were in the same room as them.

since most states don't allow same-sex marriage, I don't think it's fair to use that argument.

Um... we ARE talking about New York couples here. I think that argument is more than fair. There COULD be married gay couples who are also high profile, but there really just don't happen to be that many. Honestly, I think Tracy and Carrie being on the list is slightly odd, but obviously Debra and Will made the list since there relationship was high profile in the tabloids and she's a huge TV star.

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 8/12/13 at 3:59pm

Didn't they wreck both of their marriages when they fell for each other on SMASH? How charming. How 'best.'*

Kevin may not be particularly high profile, but Chris is. And their relationship (which was even profiled in the Times a few years ago) is pretty prominent in NYC theater circles.






*I judge no one. But if we're making excuses for gays NOT to be considered, then please.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 8/12/13 at 4:25pm

The response Kevin got from PLAYBILL is that they DID reach out to gay couples but they got either no response or they responded too late (probably man-scaping at the time).

A lot, if no most of the gay couples ARE married, and some with children. Bravo and the best to them all!

Kevin has stated he doesn't like the term "best" either.
Most mags write their own titles. Updated On: 8/12/13 at 04:25 PM